The arrivals gate brought load after load of passengers, each bringing with them their own holiday story.

The scene showed anxious families waiting for their loved ones and eager passengers thankful there were people there to greet them.

"That's the best feeling ever. To walk through the door and see my whole family," said Christina Nagel, a student in New York coming home to visit her family.

For the Schifferer family, their Papa, Heinrich Schifferer's arrival from the Phillipines has been a long time coming.

"We had a day countdown to when he was coming. We've been planning for a couple weeks now," said Schifferer's daughter. The family prepared a sign and balloons for his arrival.

"It's been about 7 months now that I've been gone. But it feels more like 7 years. Its just terrible. But I'm so glad to be home," said Schifferer. "This is great. This is the best surprise I've ever had."